Software, Technical Program Manager

Job description

Who we are at Osmo: Osmo is a digital olfaction company, on a mission to give computers a sense of smell to improve the health and wellbeing of human life. Why? Our sense of smell both enriches and saves lives, and has a deep and direct connection to our emotions and memory. Olfactory Intelligence has applications across industries including fragrance, manufacturing, security, medicine, and more. We believe in the power of automation and thoughtfully applied AI/ML to solve problems beyond the reach of human intuition alone. Osmo is headquartered in Elizabeth, NJ, with an additional office in Somerville, MA. THE ROLE We're hiring a Software, Technical Program Manager to embed directly with Osmo's Software and AI organization. You'll be the connective tissue between our ML engineers, applied ML scientists, software engineers, and the rest of the company — driving how and when we build, managing complex dependencies, and removing blockers so the team can move. This is a software-specific TPM role, and we mean it. You'll need to be technically credible with engineers and ML scientists at a detailed level — comfortable in a design review, comfortable reading code, comfortable understanding a model architecture decision and its downstream impacts. You'll be driving technical execution and cross-functional delivery inside one of the most ambitious applied AI problems in the world. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Partner directly with software and ML leadership as their primary thought partner on execution strategy, resource planning, and timeline delivery. - Translate Osmo's product and scientific ambitions into clear, actionable engineering milestones. Build the operational roadmap to get us from architecture to deployment. - Build and use AI-powered tools and workflows in your own work — for progress tracking, dependency mapping, stakeholder communication, and operational efficiency. - Own execution and dependency management. Identify cross-functional blockers between ML, software, and hardware teams, make timeline tradeoffs visible, and drive them to resolution. - Structure release readiness and deployment schedules for ML models and software systems. Bring the right data forward so the team can ship with confidence. - Sit close to the engineering and ML work. Be in design reviews. Read the code when you need to. Understand how the system actually works, not just what's on the Gantt chart. - Develop deep technical intuition about Osmo's AI systems — understanding architectural bottlenecks, latency risks, integration challenges, and what a healthy ML lifecycle looks like. - Translate execution status, technical risks, and timeline shifts between deeply technical ML teams and business, product, and scientific stakeholders. Make complex tradeoffs legible to non-engineers without losing the substance. - Bring structure to ambiguous technical initiatives — scope them, sequence them, and keep them moving without adding process for its own sake. - Surface blockers, technical risks, and capacity limits early — with proposed solutions and contingency plans, not just escalations. - Help define what good looks like for technical program management at Osmo, and set the bar for those who follow. QUALIFICATIONS - 10+ years of combined experience in software engineering, ML engineering, or applied ML, plus a program management, technical program management, or engineering leadership role. We want both: engineering depth and operational execution instinct. - Demonstrated understanding of the ML development lifecycle — data, training, evaluation, validation, and deployment — and a real point of view on how to efficiently ship ML systems. - Strong software fluency. You can read code in at least one mainstream language, follow a model architecture discussion in real time, and understand system integration points in a design review. - Direct experience driving technical execution inside a software or ML organization — successfully delivering complex, multi-team engineering projects from requirements to production. - Fluency with modern AI tools (LLMs, automation platforms, workflow builders) and a track record of using AI in your own work to move faster and manage projects better. - Strong judgment under ambiguity. You can walk into an undefined project space, establish milestones, and produce clarity. - Clear, confident communicator who can bridge deeply technical ML and engineering teams with business and scientific stakeholders. - Comfort pushing back on stakeholders, including senior leaders, when timelines, scopes, or resources don't add up. - Bachelor's degree or higher in computer science, a related STEM field, or equivalent engineering experience. - Authorized to work in the US and available on-site at our Elizabeth, NJ location. WAYS TO STAND OUT - You started as a software engineer or ML engineer and moved into program management — and you still write code, even occasionally, by choice. - Hands-on experience orchestrating the delivery of applied ML products, ML platforms, generative AI systems, or scientific computing software. - Experience inside a small, fast-moving AI or ML company where you had to build the engineering delivery process rather than inherit it. - Comfort with Python, SQL, or notebooks when you need to validate data or system status yourself rather than ask. - A track record of building AI-powered tools or workflows that materially improved how your engineering organization operates. - Experience partnering with founders or senior technical leaders as a trusted execution partner. - A track record of operating successfully in a flat org with strong IC tracks — comfortable driving alignment and delivery without formal authority. Base Salary: $201k-$231k If this role inspires you we’d encourage you to apply. We are committed to recruiting, developing, and retaining an incredible team optimized for a diversity of thought, background, and approaches. For all Full-Time Employees, compensation is just one component of Osmo’s total rewards approach, which is designed to support the well-being, growth, and long-term success of our team members. Depending on the role, this may include base salary or contract-based pay, along with access to health, dental, and vision coverage; a 401(k) retirement savings plan with company match; flexible paid time off and company holidays; and equity or incentive compensation for eligible roles. Actual compensation will vary based on factors such as experience, skills, location, internal equity, and other relevant business considerations. Osmo regularly reviews pay ranges and compensation structures to ensure they remain competitive, equitable, and aligned with current market data. All employment decisions and responsibilities are determined based on current ability and your ability to grow, without regard to race, color, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, marital status, physical, mental, or sensory disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Recruitment & Staffing Agencies: Osmo does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than candidates. The submission of unsolicited resumes by recruitment or staffing agencies to Osmo or its employees is strictly prohibited unless contacted directly by the Osmo Talent Acquisition team. Any resume submitted by an agency in the absence of a signed agreement will automatically become the property of Osmo and Osmo will not owe any referral or other fees with respect thereto. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire